Cnotes 2019 WNBA News - Notes - Picks Thru The Playoffs !

CNOTES · Sep 15, 2019

Armadillo: Sunday's six-pack

Top six picks for Week 2 in Westgate Super Contest:

6) Falcons, +1.5 (729)

5) Rams, 2.5 (785)

4) Bengals, -2 (804)

T2) Steelers, -4 (966)
T2) Cowboys, -5 (966)

1) Browns, -2.5 (2,053)— Spread posted before Darnold declared out

2019 record: 3-3

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Armadillo: Sunday's Den: Wrapping up a college football Saturday

13) Virginia 31, Florida State 24— Cavaliers had three TD drives of 72+ yards in the 4th quarter, as they handed FSU a loss that made the Seminoles 13-15 SU in their last 28 games.

12) Iowa 18, Iowa State 17— Game was delayed twice by lightning for total of almost three hours; Hawkeyes won 5th straight game in this rivalry, despite being outgained by 105 yards. Cyclones lost two fumbles, were 3-9 on 3rd down; Iowa was 10-19.

11) Temple 20, Maryland 17— Weird game; Terrapins were 5-21 on 3rd down, 1-6 on 4th down, failing to score on three drives where they had 1st-and goal. Maryland scored two safeties, was +2 in turnovers but still lost- they completed only 16-39 passes.

10) BYU 30, USC 27 OT— Cougars win in OT for second week in a row; they won at Tennessee LW. Trojans were minus-3 in turnovers; total yardage was 452-430, fun game to watch.

9) Air Force 30, Colorado 23 OT— Buffaloes started LY 5-0, then lost their last seven games and fired coach MacIntyre, who I think is a good coach (DC at Ole Miss now).

Colorado beat Nebraska LW, in the renewal of an old rivalry, then they get beat in OT here by an Air Force team that ran ball for 289 yards. Buffs have a senior QB; this is their year to make some noise, but this is a bad loss.

8) Wake Forest 24, North Carolina 18— Demon Deacons are 3-0, and appear headed to their 4th straight bowl, which would be the first time Wake Forest has done that. Thats the good news.

Bad news for Wake Forest will be when a big $$$ school comes calling for coach Dave Clawson, who appears headed for greener pa$ture$ fairly soon. Very good coach.

7) Upsets:
— Kansas (+19) 48, Boston College 24
— Arizona State (+15.5) 10, Michigan State 7
— Kansas State (+7.5) 31, Mississippi State 24
— West Virginia (+7) 44, NC State 27
— Temple (+7) 20, Maryland 17
— Eastern Michigan (+7) 34, Illinois 31
— Liberty (+6) 35, Buffalo 17

6) I-A team losing to a I-AA team:
— Citadel 27, Georgia Tech 24— Citadel runs the option, making things worse for Tech.

Close call, red flag:
— Virginia Tech 24, Furman 17
— Nevada 19, Weber State 13
— Wyoming 21, Idaho 16

5) Eastern Michigan 34, Illinois 31— Was impressed by EMU senior QB Mike Glass III, who was 23-36/316 passing in the Eagles’ upset win.

4) Arizona State 10, Michigan State 7— Spartans didn’t score until there was 8:37 left to play; Sun Devils went ahead 10-7 with 0:50 left, then Michigan State tied it on a FG with 0:06 left, but they had 12 men on the field- when they tried the kick again, they missed badly.

Big win for Herm Edwards’ Sun Devils, who were 15.5-point underdogs; ASU is 6-2 ATS as an underdog under Edwards.

3) Arizona 28, Texas Tech 14— Wildcats ran ball for 314 yards, converted 15-21 third down plays. Arizona QB Tate threw for 185 yards, ran for 129 more.

2) Southern Miss 47, Troy State 42— Both teams threw for 500+ yards; there were six TD’s scored in 4th quarter, including back/back kick returns for TD’s— shortest play of the six TD’s was 34 yards. 12 TD’s, no turnovers, wild game.

1) A gambler put $1,000 on Auburn to beat Kent State (with no pointspread) at a Caesars sportsbook Saturday night. Auburn won 55-16; the bettor wins $5, so he basically got a free drink for his trouble.

CNOTES · Sep 15, 2019

Cheat Sheet - Second Round

The WNBA playoffs is down to six teams as the first round concluded this past Wednesday.

In those games, the home teams went 2-0 both straight up and against the spread as Chicago and Seattle posted wins and covers against Phoenix and Minnesota respectively while the 'over' also cashed in both games as well.

The Sky will now head to desert to meet Las Vegas on Sunday while the Storm trek down the West Coast for a matchup at Los Angeles later in the evening.

Those two clubs will meet the winner of Sunday's winners in the semifinals, which are best-of-five matchups.

(Straight Up - SU, Against the Spread - ATS, Over-Under - O/U)

No. 6 Seattle at No. 3 Los Angeles (ESPN, 3:05 p.m. ET)

Regular Season Meetings (Los Angeles 2-1 SU/ATS, Over 2-1, Home Team 3-0 SU/ATS)

June 21 - Seattle (+1.5) 84 vs. Los Angeles 62 (Under 154)
Aug. 4 - Los Angeles (-4.5) 83 vs. Seattle 75 (Over 148)
Sept. 5 - Los Angeles (-6.5) 102 vs. Seattle 68 (Over 155)

-- The home team went unbeaten in all three regular season meetings.

-- The Sparks captured their two victories at home, winning by eight points in early August before a 34-point blowout win last week.

-- Seattle advanced to this matchup by defeating Minnesota 84-74 at home this past Wednesday in the first round as a 2 1/2-point home favorite while the 'over' (149.5) cashed.

-- Including that victory, the Storm have won and covered four of their last five games. The lone loss, mentioned above, came at Los Angeles.

-- Seattle went 7-10 SU and 9-8 ATS on the road this season.

-- When catching points away from home, the Storm went 5-9 SU and 7-7 ATS.

-- In their last six spots as a road underdog, Seattle went 1-5 SU and 2-4 ATS.

-- Even though Wednesday's first-round playoff game went 'over' the total, the Storm were a solid 'under' bet in the regular season (20-13-1).

-- On the road, the low side went 11-5-1 for the club and all of those results are attributed to Seattle's defense that is allowing a league best 75.1 points per game.

-- Los Angeles finished the regular season with a 22-12 SU and 17-16-1 ATS record, the best mark in the Western Conference.

-- The Sparks closed the year with three straight wins at home, winning by an average of 17.6 PPG.

-- At home, Los Angeles was an impressive 15-2 SU and 12-5 ATS.

-- As home favorites this season, the Sparks closed with 12 consecutive wins and they went 9-3 ATS in those contests.

-- Total bettors saw a nice back and forth with Los Angeles this season as the club saw the 'over' go 18-16 overall, 9-8 both at home and on the road.

-- L.A. went 1-1 in last year's postseason and the win came at home, a 75-68 decision over Minnesota as a six-point home favorite.

-- Going back to the 2015 playoffs, Los Angeles has gone 8-2 both SU and ATS in its last 10 playoff games at home. The 'over' has gone 6-4 during this span but the 'under' has connected in the last three encounters.

-- Seattle managed to steal one road win against Washington in last year's WNBA Finals but that was an anomaly. Prior to that win, the Storm had dropped eight straight playoff games on the road.

No. 5 Chicago at No. 4 Las Vegas (ESPN2, 5:05 p.m. ET)

Regular Season Meetings (Las Vegas 2-1 SU, 1-2 ATS, Over 3-0, Away 2-1 SU, 3-0 ATS)

July 2 - Las Vegas (-9) 90 vs. Chicago 82 (Over 162.5)
Aug. 9 - Chicago (+7) 87 at Las Vegas 84 (Over 164.5)
Aug. 18 - Las Vegas (-2) 100 at Chicago 85 (Over 168.5)

-- This regular season matchup saw the visitor go 2-1 SU and ATS, with all of the encounters coming in the second-half of the season.

-- Chicago surprised Las Vegas on Aug. 9 wtih an 87-84 win as a seven-point home favorite but it did fall to Las Vegas 90-82 at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 2.

-- The point-spread on those games was Vegas -9 and -7, which is much higher than Sunday's opening number of -2.5.

-- The totals on those games ranged from 162.5 to 168.5 and the 'over' went 3-0 in the regular season. Fast forward to the playoffs, where defense is expected to be stressed, and the number is up to 176.5 off an opener of 173.

-- Chicago came to play this past Wednesday as it dominated Phoenix 105-76 in wire-to-wire fashion as a seven-point favorite.

-- Including the win over the Mercury, the Sky have won and covered three of their last four games.

-- The 'over' has been the hot hand for Chicago, winners now in seven straight and 15 of the last 16 for the club.

-- Chicago is the only team in the WNBA to average and allow over 80 points per game (84.6, 83.3).

-- On the road, the Sky went 8-9 SU and 10-6-1 ATS.

-- Circling back to the 'over' angle, the Sky have watched the high side go 15-2 in 17 away games.

-- Las Vegas finished 21-13 SU overall but it burned bettors with a 13-21 record against the spread.

-- The Aces were strong at home, going 13-4 at the Thomas & Mack Center and they were a tad better for bettors (7-10 ATS).

-- Vegas finished the season with a 98-89 road win at Phoenix but a 1-4 record in its previous five games could be alarming.

-- The 'over' went 10-7 at home for Las Vegas, 17-16-1 overall on the season.

-- This will be the first playoff appearance for the Las Vegas franchise since the club moved from San Antonio.

-- Prior to Wednesday's playoff win over Seattle, the last trip to the postseason for the Sky came in the 2016 playoffs.

CNOTES · Sep 15, 2019

WNBA

Sunday, September 15

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
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Los Angeles Sparks
Los Angeles is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games
Los Angeles is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Los Angeles is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games at home
Los Angeles is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 6 games at home
Los Angeles is 5-11 ATS in its last 16 games when playing Seattle
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Los Angeles's last 11 games when playing Seattle
Los Angeles is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Seattle
Los Angeles is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Seattle
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Los Angeles's last 19 games when playing at home against Seattle
Seattle Storm
Seattle is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Seattle is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Seattle's last 6 games
Seattle is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 15 of Seattle's last 21 games on the road
Seattle is 11-5 ATS in its last 16 games when playing Los Angeles
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Seattle's last 11 games when playing Los Angeles
Seattle is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Los Angeles
Seattle is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Los Angeles
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Seattle's last 19 games when playing on the road against Los Angeles

Las Vegas Aces
Las Vegas is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games
Las Vegas is 15-7 SU in its last 22 games
Las Vegas is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Las Vegas's last 11 games
Las Vegas is 11-1 SU in its last 12 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Las Vegas's last 5 games at home
Las Vegas is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Chicago
Las Vegas is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Chicago
The total has gone OVER in 13 of Las Vegas's last 16 games when playing Chicago
Las Vegas is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Chicago
Las Vegas is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Chicago
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Las Vegas's last 8 games when playing at home against Chicago
Chicago Sky
Chicago is 12-5 ATS in its last 17 games
Chicago is 14-6 SU in its last 20 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Chicago's last 5 games
Chicago is 8-3 ATS in its last 11 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Chicago's last 5 games on the road
Chicago is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Las Vegas
Chicago is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Las Vegas
The total has gone OVER in 13 of Chicago's last 16 games when playing Las Vegas
Chicago is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Las Vegas
Chicago is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Las Vegas
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Chicago's last 8 games when playing on the road against Las Vegas

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WNBA
Dunkel

Sunday, September 15

Seattle @ Los Angeles

Game 605-606
September 15, 2019 @ 3:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Seattle
109.661
Los Angeles
114.917
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Los Angeles
by 5
152
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Los Angeles
by 7
155
Dunkel Pick:
Seattle
(+7); Under

Chicago @ Las Vegas

Game 607-608
September 15, 2019 @ 5:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Chicago
115.275
Las Vegas
108.390
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Chicago
by 7
166
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Las Vegas
by 4 1/2
175
Dunkel Pick:
Chicago
(+4 1/2); Under

WNBA
Long Sheet

Sunday, September 15

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SEATTLE (19 - 16) at LOS ANGELES (22 - 12) - 9/15/2019, 2:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SEATTLE is 20-38 ATS (-21.8 Units) in road games when playing with 3 or more days rest since 1997.
SEATTLE is 82-113 ATS (-42.3 Units) in road games after a division game since 1997.
LOS ANGELES is 12-4 ATS (+7.6 Units) in home games this season.
LOS ANGELES is 11-4 ATS (+6.6 Units) in a home game where where the total is greater than or equal to 150 this season.
LOS ANGELES is 8-1 ATS (+6.9 Units) in home games in August or September games this season.
LOS ANGELES is 15-5 ATS (+9.5 Units) on Sunday games over the last 2 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 8-1 ATS (+6.9 Units) when playing with 3 or more days rest this season.
LOS ANGELES is 7-1 ATS (+5.9 Units) in home games vs. division opponents this season.
LOS ANGELES is 10-1 ATS (+8.9 Units) in home games after 3 or more consecutive wins over the last 3 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 10-2 ATS (+7.8 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
SEATTLE is 43-31 ATS (+8.9 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
SEATTLE is 23-13 ATS (+8.7 Units) in road games over the last 2 seasons.
SEATTLE is 12-5 ATS (+6.5 Units) vs. division opponents this season.
SEATTLE is 18-9 ATS (+8.1 Units) revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 2 seasons.
SEATTLE is 17-8 ATS (+8.2 Units) in road games versus poor defensive teams - allowing 77+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
SEATTLE is 5-4 against the spread versus LOS ANGELES over the last 3 seasons
LOS ANGELES is 5-4 straight up against SEATTLE over the last 3 seasons
7 of 9 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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CHICAGO (21 - 14) at LAS VEGAS (21 - 12) - 9/15/2019, 4:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CHICAGO is 22-12 ATS (+8.8 Units) in all games this season.
CHICAGO is 14-7 ATS (+6.3 Units) as an underdog this season.
CHICAGO is 11-1 ATS (+9.9 Units) when playing with 3 or more days rest this season.
CHICAGO is 18-10 ATS (+7.0 Units) after allowing 75 points or more this season.
CHICAGO is 11-4 ATS (+6.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
CHICAGO is 8-2 ATS (+5.8 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 77+ points/game after 15+ games this season.
CHICAGO is 11-4 ATS (+6.6 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 77+ points/game this season.
LAS VEGAS is 26-46 ATS (-24.6 Units) as a home favorite of 3.5 to 6 points since 1997.
LAS VEGAS is 3-12 ATS (-10.2 Units) after a division game this season.
LAS VEGAS is 6-17 ATS (-12.7 Units) after scoring 75 points or more this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
CHICAGO is 5-3 against the spread versus LAS VEGAS over the last 3 seasons
LAS VEGAS is 5-4 straight up against CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons
7 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

CNOTES · Sep 15, 2019

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 15
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

SEA at LA 03:00 PM
SEA +7.5
O 154.5

CHI at LV 05:00 PM
CHI +4.5
O 175.5

CNOTES · Sep 16, 2019

Hamby's shot lifts Las Vegas over Chicago
September 15, 2019
By The Associated Press

LAS VEGAS (AP) Dearica Hamby hit a shot from a few steps inside halfcourt with 5 seconds left to lift Las Vegas to a 93-92 win over the Chicago Sky on Sunday in the second round of the WNBA playoffs.

With the Aces down by two, Hamby stole a pass from Courtney Vandersloot, took a dribble over halfcourt near the sideline and threw up her shot that went in. The Sky had one last chance, but Astou Ndour's 3-pointer from the corner after a timeout was off.

Las Vegas will play Washington in the best-of-five semifinals that begin Tuesday.

Liz Cambage had 23 points, 17 rebounds and six blocks, Hamby finished with 17 points.

Hamby made a short basket to give Las Vegas a five-point lead with 3:32 left in the fourth quarter but Diamond DeShields and Vandersloot each made a layup before Ndour, who made just 14 3-pointers in the regular season, hit a corner 3 with 24.4 seconds to play to give Chicago a 92-90 lead.

On the ensuing possession, Vandersloot poked the ball off the leg of A'ja Wilson, who lost it out of bounds. Vandersloot then had the ball in the backcourt and was under pressure when Hamby stole it and hit her deep runner.

Diamond DeShields had 23 points, Ndour scored 17 and Kahleah Copper 16 for No. 5 seed Chicago.

SPARKS 92, STORM 69

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Chelsea Gray had 21 points and eight assists, Candace Parker added 11 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, and the Sparks beat Seattle to eliminate the defending-champion Storm from the WNBA playoffs.

No. 3 seed Los Angeles advance to play second-seeded Connecticut, which earned a double-bye to the semifinals. The best-of-five series begins Tuesday in Connecticut. The WNBA said that they will pay for charter flights for the winners of the second round games to fly east so that the teams can have a full day to prepare for the first game of the semifinals.

Natasha Howard gave the Storm their first lead since early in the second quarter with a 3-pointer that made it 56-55 with 3:11 left in the third but Parker answered with a layup, Gray hit a pull-up jumper and, after a short basket by Seattle's Jewell Loyd, the Sparks scored 21 of the next 24 points to pull away for good.

Nneka Ogwumike scored 17 points and Riquna Williams added 11 for the Sparks (22-12).

Natasha Howard led the Storm with 20 points, 11 rebounds and four steals.

CNOTES · Sep 16, 2019

SCHEDULE FOR TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 17, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
6:30 PM Los Angeles Sparks Connecticut Sun Mohegan Sun Arena
8:30 PM Las Vegas Aces Washington Mystics The Entertainment and Sports Arena

SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 19, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
6:30 PM Los Angeles Sparks Connecticut Sun Mohegan Sun Arena
8:30 PM Las Vegas Aces Washington Mystics The Entertainment and Sports Arena

SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 22, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
5:00 PM Washington Mystics Las Vegas Aces Mandalay Bay Events Center
7:00 PM Connecticut Sun Los Angeles Sparks Staples Center

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WNBA SEPT. PLAYOFFS OPINIONS AND BEST BETS: ALL BASED ON 5 UNITS

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

09/15/2019.......3-1-0........75.00%.......+9.50
09/11/2019...... 3-1-0 .......75.00% ......+9.50

Total.................6-2-0........75.00%.......+19.00

*****************************

BEST BETS:

DATE........................ATS............. ..UNITS...............O/U..............UNITS...........TOTALS

09/15/2019..............1 - 1................-0.50................2 - 0............+10.00..........+9.50
09/11/2019..............1 - 1................-0.50................2 - 0............+10.00..........+9.50

Totals......................2 - 2 ...............-1.00.................4 - 0............+20.00.........+19.00

CNOTES · Sep 16, 2019

Sunday’s 6-pack

Top six picks for Week 2 in Westgate Super Contest:

6) Falcons, +1.5 (729)- W

5) Rams, -2.5 (785)- W

4) Bengals, -2 (804)- L

T2) Steelers, -4 (966)- L

T2) Cowboys, -5 (966)- W

1) Browns, -2.5 (2,053)

2019 record: 6-5

Quote of the Day
“It was about the look on defense. I was actually kind of surprised that he was coming over to talk about that, but we got it all sorted out over there on the sideline. It actually wasn’t a big deal. … We’re a little animated at times. I can’t say we were yelling how much we love each other, but we definitely weren’t MF-ing each other or anything. It was talking about the look there and getting on the same page.”
Aaron Rodgers, about a conversation he had with coach Matt LaFleur

Monday’s quiz
Who was the Atlanta Falcons’ QB the first time they played in a Super Bowl?

Sunday’s quiz
Pro wrestler/actor Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson played college football at Miami.

Saturday’s quiz
OJ Simpson finished his career with the 49ers.

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Monday’s Den: Wrapping up an NFL Sunday……..

Colts 19, Titans 17
— Indy drove 69 yards in four plays for winning TD with 4:38 left to play.
— Total yardage was 288-242 Indy; neither team averaged 4 yards/pass attempt.
— 46-year old Viniatieri missed two more PAT’s; could the end be near?

— Titans converted only 1-10 on 3rd down; Colts were 7-14.
— Tennessee lost five of last six home openers (under 6-2 last eight).
— There were only two plays of 20+ yards in this game.

Lions 13, Chargers 10
— Chargers had ball four times in 2nd half; two turnovers, two missed FG’s.
— Rivers threw INT into double coverage in end zone with 1:03 left.
— Three drives into red zone, only seven points for the Bolts.

— This was only 5th cover for Lions in last 16 tries as a home underdog.
— Detroit beats Chargers for only 2nd time in last nine meetings.
— Total yardage was 424-339, Chargers.

Bills 28, Giants 14
— Buffalo wins the state championship of New Jersey.
— Bills are 2-0 for first time since 2014.
— Buffalo is 21-17-2 ATS in last 40 games where spread was 3 or fewer points.

— Giants scored first in both their games, were outscored 63-17 after that.
— Big Blue is 4-9 ATS in last 13 games as a home underdog.
— Barkley ran for 107 yards, but caught only three passes for 28 yards.

Ravens 23, Cardinals 17:
— Arizona threw 40 passes, ran ball 11 only times.
— In four trips to red zone, Cardinals kicked three FG’s, scored a TD.
— Murray was 25-40/349 passing, with no turnovers,

— Jackson threw for 272 yards, ran ball for 120 more.
— In first two games, Ravens ran ball for 447 yards.
— Over last decade, teams that won by 28+ points in Week 1 are 2-12 ATS in Week 2

Patriots 43, Dolphins 0:
— Brady threw a pass with 5:30 left and NE ahead 36-0; why????
— Patriots outscored first two opponents 76-3.
— New England had seven sacks, scored two defensive TD’s.

— Miami has been outscored 102-10 in two ugly home games.
— Dolphins were outgained 1,024-384 in two games.
— 2020 NFL Draft begins April 23rd in Las Vegas.

Cowboys 31, Redskins 21:
— Cowboys ran ball for 217 yards, covered 7-11 on third down.
— Dallas won eight of last ten series games, six of last seven visits here.
— Jason Witten caught a TD pass in both games this season.

— Total yardage was 474-255, Dallas.
— Redskins had 11-yard edge in field position, but ran for only 47 yards.
— Washington lost last five and seven of last eight home openers.

Texans 13, Jaguars 12:
— Jaguars scored with 0:30 left, went for two points and a win but failed.
— First eight Jacksonville drives: 37 plays, 107 yards, three points.
— Last two Jacksonville drives: 23 plays, 129 yards, nine points.
— Minshew was 23-33/213 in his first NFL start; he also ran for 56 yards.

— Houston’s one TD drive was only 11 yards long.
— Texans’ first two games were decided by total of three points.
— Houston has now won nine of last 11 series games.

Seahawks 28, Steelers 26:
— Wilson completed 29-35 passes; Seahawks ran ball for 151 yards.
— Seattle is now 1-6-1 ATS in last eight tries as a dog in road openers.
— Seahawks are 11-6-1 ATS in last 18 games as a road underdog.

— Roethlisberger hurt his elbow, sat out second half.
— Total yardage was 425-261, Seattle.
— Steelers ran ball only 16 times for 81 yards; Conner led team with 33 YR.

49ers 41, Bengals 17:
— 49ers ran ball for 259 yards, averaged 12.0 yards/pass attempt.
— SF ran 68 plays, only nine of them were on third down.
— Niners have picked off four passes; they had only two INTs all of last year.

— In two games, Bengals threw 93 passes, ran ball only 33 times.
— Cincy is 0-2 for only second time since 2008.
— In six trips to red zone this year, Bengals scored one TD, kicked three FG’s.

Packers 21, Vikings 16:
— Home side is now 13-1-1 in last 15 series games.
— Cousins threw ball only 10 times LW; he threw 32 passes here.
— Two trips to red zone; an INT and a field goal.

— Green Bay’s first three drives: 19 plays, 176 yards, 21 points.
— Green Bay’s last 11 drives: 50 plays, 154 yards, no points.
— Packers won their last seven home openers (5-2 vs spread).

Chiefs 28, Raiders 10:
— KC scored all its points in 2nd quarter, with shortest TD play 27 yards.
— Chiefs outgunned Oakland 464-307, averaged 9.4 yards/pass attempt.
— KC won nine of last ten games with their archival Raiders.

— Last 2+ years, Raiders are 1-10 ATS coming off a win.
— Since 2012, Oakland is 13-20-1 ATS as a home underdog.
— On their first two series, Raiders ran 16 plays for 139 yards, scored 10 points; rest of game, they ran 45 plays for 199 yards, but no points.

Rams 27, Saints 9:
— Brees hurt his thumb on second series; unsure how severe the injury is.
— Kamara ran ball 13 times for only 45 yards, caught only one pass.
— Total yardage was 380-244, LA. Bridgewater was ordinary at QB.

— Rams’ first six drives: 36 plays, 169 points, six points.
— Rams’ last four drives: 24 plays, 186 yards, 21 points
— Teams with more rest won five of six games this week.

Bears 16, Bears 14:
— Chicago drove 40 yards in 0:30, kicked GW 53-yard FG at the gun for a win.
— Bears scored only one TD in their first two games.
— In their first two games, Bears converted 6-26 third down plays.

— Denver’s first six drives: 41 plays, 174 yards, 3 points.
— Denver’s last three drives: 37 plays, 197 yards, 11 points.
— Total yardage: 372-273, Broncos.

Falcons 24, Eagles 20:
— Last 3+ years, Eagles are 5-10 ATS on artificial turf.
— Both teams had three turnovers; Philly had 16-yard advantage in field position.
— Eagles converted 20-35 3rd down plays in first two games.

— Atlanta averaged 7.0 yards/pass attempt, had TD plays of 34-54 yards.
— Falcons survived three Ryan INT’s, including one in the end zone.
— Under is 11-4 in the NFL so far this week.

CNOTES · Sep 17, 2019

Armadillo: Tuesday's six-pack

Six interesting college football spreads this week:

— Utah (-4.5) @ USC

— Michigan State (-6.5) @ Northwestern

— Michigan @ Wisconsin (-3)

— Kentucky @ Mississippi State (-7)

— Auburn @ Texas A&M (-4)

— Oklahoma State @ Texas (-5)

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Armadillo: Tuesday's List of 13: Nobody asked me, but…….

13) Bad news on the quarterback front Monday; Ben Roethlisberger is done for the year- he needs elbow surgery. Roethlisberger will be 38 in March; there is a chance his Hall of Fame career is over.

Mason Rudolph takes over as Pittsburgh’s starter; they traded #3 QB Josh Dobbs to the Jaguars last week, a move they probably regret now. Looks like the new backup is Devlin Hedges, who played college ball at Samford.

12) Drew Brees needs surgery for ligament damage in his right thumb, is out for at least six weeks; Teddy Bridgewater is the Saints’ new starter.

11) I’m endorsing something today that I never thought I’d endorse, the Peyton Manning stories on ESPN+ about the history of the NFL . Watched one the other day about the Lombardi Trophy, and it was excellent.

Lot of information in there, even if Peyton continues to be annoying at the same time, just like his TV commercials. But if you like NFL history, this is good stuff.

10) Armen Keteyian wrote an article on Nick Saban in The Athletic last week that made me sad, talking about how when Saban won his first national title at Alabama, he didn’t/couldn’t enjoy the win, he was still correcting mistakes made during the game, and then stressing out about the things that had to be done about recruiting in the next few days.

If you can’t enjoy winning, coaching is a miserable job, because no one enjoys losing. Saban had a staff meeting in a hotel meeting room at 10am the day after Alabama won the title, less than 12 hours after the championship game ended.

Understood that you don’t sustain winning without that single-minded focus, but life is short, and you need to enjoy the good things along the way, too.

9) From Jen McCaffrey:
In 2001, an FBI investigation called Operation Bullpen found that over 75% of all autographed items on the market were forgeries. As a result, Major League Baseball created an authentication department that now employs 220 current and former law enforcement officials.

Authenticators Inc. is a company that works with MLB to ensure the legitimacy of milestone and game-used items as well as any player-autographed items. At least two authenticators are present at all 2,430 regular season games, with more at postseason games and special events like the All-Star Game and Home Run Derby.

8) Baseball stuff:
— Braves put IF Johan Camargo (hairline fracture of shin) on the IL.

7) Football stuff:
— Steelers’ QB Ben Roethlisberger (elbow) is out for the year.
— Saints’ QB Drew Brees is out for six weeks.
— Redskins RB Derrius Guice (knee) was put on IR.
— Florida Gators QB Feleipe Franks (dislocated ankle) is out for the year.

6) Virginia basketball coach Tony Bennett turned down a raise this week while extending his contract another year. The Cavaliers announced the extension Monday, saying Bennett asked for the money he turned down to be used to pay his staff more and for improvements to both his program as well as other Virginia teams.

5) Browns 23, Jets 3:
— Terrible game; wasn’t nearly as close as the final score indicates.
— Beckham caught an 89-yard TD pass to officially seal the win.
— Teams combined to convert 6-27 on third down.

— 3rd-stringer Falk was 20-25/198 in relief of injured QB Siemian.
— Jets had 45 total yards in the first half, wound up with 262.
— Le’veon Bell had 31 touches for 129 yards.

4) Handicapping 101— France upset the USA in that FIBA basketball tournament in China, then lost their next game by 14 to Argentina. For once, life makes perfect sense. Peaks and valleys, you have an emotional win, then a very disappointing loss.

3) In case you were wondering, the highest paid player on the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces makes $115,000 a year. They play a 34-game regular season. Was wondering the other day, so I looked it up, but I can’t find out how much WNBA coaches make.

2) If I owned an NBA team and was shelling out hundreds millions of dollars to pay the players, no way in hell would I want any of them playing in these international tournaments during the offseason that don’t mean a damn thing. One of them gets hurt, then what?

1) Best wishes to Nationals’ skipper Dave Martinez, who felt chest pains and underwent a cardiac catheterization Monday- he’ll miss the series in St Louis this week. Chip Hale is the interim manager for Washington.

CNOTES · Sep 17, 2019

Cheat Sheet - Semifinals

No. 4 Las Vegas vs. No. 1 Washington

Regular Season Meetings (Washington 2-1 SU/ATS, Over 3-0, Home Team 0-3 SU/ATS)

June 20 - Washington (+3.5) 95 at Las Vegas 72 (Over 166.5)
July 5 - Washington (-1) 99 at Las Vegas 70 (Over 166)
July 13 - Las Vegas (+3) 85 at Washington 81 (Over 163.5)

Aces: 22-13 Straight-Up, 13-22 Against the Spread, 18-16-1 Over/Under
Mystics: 26-8 Straight-Up, 20-13-1 Against the Spread, 20-14 Over/Under

-- Las Vegas shocked Chicago in the second round on a steal and desperation three-pointer in the final 10 seconds of a 93-92 victory as four-point favorites.

-- The Aces owned the second-worst ATS record in the league at 13-22, behind the Liberty’s 11-21-2 ATS mark.

-- Las Vegas has won eight of its last nine home games, but has compiled a 3-6 record in its previous nine road contests.

-- Washington put together the top record in the league at 26-8, while closing the season on an 11-1 run.

-- The Mystics have won 10 consecutive home contests, as Washington has covered seven times in this span.

-- Washington’s offense has topped the 86-point mark in each of its last 13 victories, while the Mystics are 6-2 in their last eight road affairs.

-- The road team captured all three meetings this season, as Washington destroyed Las Vegas in the first matchup, 95-72 as 3 ½-point underdogs on June 20.

-- The Mystics led the Aces, 51-36 at halftime in the next matchup in Sin City on July 6 before an earthquake stopped the contest. The teams resumed the game one month later as Washington cruised to a 99-70 rout, capped off by a 24-11 fourth quarter run.

-- Las Vegas broke through in D.C. in the final regular season matchup on July 13 in an 85-81 win as three-point underdogs. The Mystics played without leading scorer Elena Delle Donne, as Washington squandered a 12-point lead after the first quarter.

-- This is the first-ever meeting in the postseason between these two franchises (Las Vegas started in Utah then moved to San Antonio before settling as the Aces two seasons ago).

-- Las Vegas is taking part in the playoffs for the first time since its move from San Antonio in 2018, and its first postseason appearance since 2014.

-- Washington is back in the playoffs for the sixth time in seven seasons, as the Mystics are coming off a loss in the WNBA Finals last season to Seattle.

No. 3 Los Angeles vs. No. 2 Connecticut

Regular Season Meetings (Los Angeles 2-1 SU/ATS, Under 2-1, Home Team 3-0 SU/ATS)

May 31 - Los Angeles (+2.5) 77 vs. Connecticut 70 (Under 164.5)
June 6 - Connecticut (-7) 89 vs. Los Angeles 77 (Over 157.5)
Aug. 25 - Los Angeles (-4.5) 84 vs. Connecticut 72 (Under 156.5)

Sparks: 23-12 Straight-up, 18-16-1 Against the Spread, 19-16 Over/Under
Sun: 23-11 Straight-up, 14-19-1 Against the Spread, 17-17 Over/Under

-- Los Angeles dominated Seattle, 92-69 in the second round as seven-point favorites to advance to the semifinals.

-- The Sparks have won eight of their last 10 games, including seven consecutive wins at home in this stretch.

-- Los Angeles struggled on the road this season by posting a 7-10 SU and 5-11-1 ATS record, including a 2-4 ATS mark as an away underdog. Five of the seven road wins came against non-playoff teams.

-- The Sparks have caught fire at home by winning 15 consecutive games at Staples Center, including seven straight victories by double-digits.

-- The Sun put together a 15-2 record at home, including wins in nine of their final 10 home contests. However, Connecticut went 5-5 ATS in the last 10 home games.

-- Connecticut enters the playoffs off consecutive losses to Chicago and Indiana to close out the regular season, while riding a five-game OVER streak.

-- Since starting the season on a 6-3 ATS run, the Sun has slumped to an 8-16-1 ATS ledger in the last 25 games.

-- Connecticut began with road wins in three of its four tries on the highway, but finished 5-8 in the last 13 away contests, including a 2-9 ATS run as a road favorite.

-- The home team won all three matchups this season, as all three games were decided by seven points or more.

-- Los Angeles beat Connecticut as 2 ½-point home underdogs on May 31 in a 77-70 triumph following a season-opening defeat to Las Vegas.

-- The Sun jumped out to a 12-point lead after one quarter in the next matchup one week later in Connecticut and grabbed an 89-77 win as seven-point favorites.

-- The Sparks took the series finale at Staples Center on August 25 as 4 ½-point favorites, 84-72.

-- This is the first playoff meeting between the Sparks and Sun ever.

-- Connecticut is making its third straight playoff appearance, while Los Angeles is in the postseason for an eighth consecutive campaign.

-- The Sun lost to Phoenix in the second round of the playoffs each of the past two seasons, while making its last appearance in the WNBA Finals back in 2005 as they lost to Sacramento.

-- The Sparks reached the WNBA Finals in 2016 and 2017 and faced the Lynx both times. Los Angeles won the title in 2016, but failed to repeat in a series loss to Minnesota in 2017.

CNOTES · Sep 17, 2019

WNBA
Long Sheet

Tuesday, September 17

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LOS ANGELES (23 - 12) at CONNECTICUT (23 - 11) - 9/17/2019, 6:30 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
LOS ANGELES is 6-3 against the spread versus CONNECTICUT over the last 3 seasons
LOS ANGELES is 5-4 straight up against CONNECTICUT over the last 3 seasons
6 of 9 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LAS VEGAS (22 - 12) at WASHINGTON (25 - 8) - 9/17/2019, 8:30 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
LAS VEGAS is 5-2 against the spread versus WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
WASHINGTON is 4-3 straight up against LAS VEGAS over the last 3 seasons
4 of 7 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WNBA

Tuesday, September 17

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Connecticut Sun
Connecticut is 2-3-1 ATS in its last 6 games
Connecticut is 14-5 SU in its last 19 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Connecticut's last 5 games
Connecticut is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Connecticut's last 5 games at home
Connecticut is 3-6 ATS in its last 9 games when playing Los Angeles
Connecticut is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Los Angeles
Connecticut is 6-14 SU in its last 20 games when playing Los Angeles
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Connecticut's last 9 games when playing Los Angeles
Connecticut is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Los Angeles
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Connecticut's last 5 games when playing at home against Los Angeles
Los Angeles Sparks
Los Angeles is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 6 games
Los Angeles is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Los Angeles is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 5 games on the road
Los Angeles is 6-3 ATS in its last 9 games when playing Connecticut
Los Angeles is 14-6 SU in its last 20 games when playing Connecticut
Los Angeles is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Connecticut
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Los Angeles's last 9 games when playing Connecticut
Los Angeles is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Connecticut
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 5 games when playing on the road against Connecticut

Washington Mystics
Washington is 8-3 ATS in its last 11 games
Washington is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Washington's last 15 games
Washington is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games at home
Washington is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Washington's last 9 games at home
Washington is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Las Vegas
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Washington's last 15 games when playing Las Vegas
Washington is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games when playing at home against Las Vegas
Washington is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Las Vegas
Las Vegas Aces
Las Vegas is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games
Las Vegas is 16-7 SU in its last 23 games
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Las Vegas's last 12 games
Las Vegas is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Las Vegas is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Las Vegas's last 6 games on the road
Las Vegas is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Washington
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Las Vegas's last 15 games when playing Washington
Las Vegas is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Washington
Las Vegas is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Washington

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

WNBA
Dunkel

Tuesday, September 17

Los Angeles @ Connecticut

Game 611-612
September 17, 2019 @ 6:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Los Angeles
104.439;
Connecticut
118.671
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Connecticut
by 14
157
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Connecticut
by 2 1/2
161 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Connecticut
(-2 1/2); Under

Las Vegas @ Washington

Game 613-614
September 17, 2019 @ 8:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Las Vegas
109.441
Washington
122.655
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Washington
by 13
175
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Washington
by 7 1/2
170 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Washington
(-7 1/2); Over

CNOTES · Sep 17, 2019

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

LA at CONN 06:30 PM
LA +2.5
O 161.0

LV at WAS 08:30 PM
WAS -10.0
O 172.0

CNOTES · Sep 18, 2019

Mystics grab Game 1, but Aces cash
September 17, 2019
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WASHINGTON (AP) The Washington Mystics were thrilled to pull out a close win in the playoffs.

Elena Delle Donne scored 24 points and hit a crucial turnaround jumper late, Emma Meesseman added a career postseason high 27 points and 10 rebounds, and the Mystics held on for a 97-95 victory over the Las Vegas Aces in Game 1 of their WNBA semifinal series.

It was Washington's first win all year by a single possession, one in which the Aces missed a game-tying runner at the buzzer.

''It was stressful,'' admitted Delle Donne, helped the Mystics to a 26-8 regular season record and the top playoff seed. ''We haven't had many of those moments. And to get one of those in the semifinals is big. To be able to gut it out is huge for us.''

Meesseman also bested her regular-season high of 25 for the Mystics, who were playing their first postseason game since being swept by the Seattle Storm in last year's WNBA Finals. Meesseman wasn't a part of that team, after taking a leave of absence following the 2017 season.

''She's been preached at all year by her teammates and coaches that she's the missing piece from a year ago,'' Mystics coach Mike Thibault said.

In her first game in more than a month, Kristi Toliver added eight points, including a falling away, contested 3-pointer that stretched Washington's lead to 13 in the fourth quarter, an advantage that just barely held.

''Kristi had some Kristi moments,'' Delle Donne said. ''Thank God.''

A'ja Wilson scored 23 points for Las Vegas, which twice got the deficit as close as two points in the final moments. Liz Cambage had 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Kayla McBride added 19 points.

Kelsey Plum had 16 points and nine assists, and missed a runner to force overtime two days after Dearica Hamby's 35-foot runner decided the Aces' 93-92, second-round win over Chicago.

After Toliver's 3 made it 92-79, the Aces scored nine straight points to close the deficit to four, while twice forcing the Mystics into a shot-clock violation with the ball in Delle Donne's hands.

Wilson's drive and layup closed it to 95-93 with 1:33 left, convincing Mystics coach Mike Thibault to call timeout. Following missesd on each end, Delle Donne's turnaround stretched the lead to four with 32 seconds to play.

''They made some big shots tonight, I give them a lot of credit for that,'' Aces coach Bill Laimbeer said. ''They made some shots down the stretch. The lulls that we had hurt us. And hopefully that was a learning experience.''

Plum answered with a layup. Then Delle Donne missed a jumper with the shot clock expiring as the Aces opted not to foul.

Plum received an outlet pass and raced inside the arc, but her 20-footer wouldn't fall.

TIP-INS

Aces: Shot 73.3 % (11 of 15) during the opening quarter but still trailed at the end, 30-27. ... The series opener marked the Aces' first game in a WNBA semifinal series since making a run to the 2008 finals, when the team was located in San Antonio.

Mystics: Did not commit a turnover in the first quarter and committed only two by halftime ... Toliver entered with 4:17 left in the first quarter to a standing ovation. It was her first action since Aug. 8 (knee bruise).

CAN YOU HEAR ME?

Laimbeer could not tell whether Plum was fouled on her final shotcont, but he was frustrated he wasn't granted a timeout to set up a play for a better look.

''I was standing next to the referee by design,'' Laimbeer said. ''As soon as they missed the shot, I would be yelling `Timeout! Timeout! Timeout!' ... I yelled it five times. And she even looked at me as I was yelling and made a conscious decision not to call timeout. I do not understand why. I think the league should make a little bit of an investigation.''

REST OR RUST?

With their playoff double-bye, the Mystics were playing their first game in nine days. They were just 1-2 on five or more days' rest in the regular season. The fourth-seeded Aces also had a week to wait before their win Sunday.

UP NEXT

Game 2 of the best-of-five series is Thursday in Washington.

CNOTES · Sep 18, 2019

Sun pull away from Sparks, 84-75
September 17, 2019
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UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) Connecticut checked off the first box on its postseason to-do list: winning a playoff game for the first time since 2012.

Alyssa Thomas had 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead a balanced Connecticut offense and the Sun opened the WNBA semifinals with an 84-75 win over the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday night.

Jasmine Thomas scored 19 points, Jonquel Jones had 16 and Courtney Williams had 15 for the second-seeded Sun, who had a bye for the first two rounds.

''We've been working toward this all season,'' said Alyssa Thomas, who also had five assists and four of the team's nine steals. ''Our first goal was to secure at top-two seed. Single game elimination has not been good to us and we finally put ourselves in a position where we can play a series and we're more than ready. We're hungry.''

Candace Parker had 24 points and 10 rebounds, and Nneka Ogwumike added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Sparks, who knocked off defending champion Seattle in the second round.

But the Sun forced the Sparks into 17 turnovers and Los Angeles' starting backcourt of Riquna Williams and Chelsea Gray were a combined 3 of 17 from the floor.

''We have a third and fourth, fifth person that's capable of scoring points,'' said Sparks first-year coach Derek Fisher. ''But we couldn't sustain it, particularly from our backcourt.''

Connecticut trailed by three points at halftime, but scored the first nine points of the third quarter. A layup by Courtney Williams just before that quarter's buzzer sent the Sun into the final 10 minutes up 59-58.

Connecticut never trailed in the fourth. A key 3-pointer from Jones gave the Sun a seven-point lead with 4 minutes remaining and the home team outscored the Sparks 25-17 over the final 10 minutes.

The Sun, who lost their final two regular-season games, had not played since Sept. 8 and missed their first four shots.

But Alyssa Thomas quickly found her form, scoring the Sun's first nine points and had 13 as Connecticut took a 21-14 lead after a quarter.

''I wouldn't say we came out slow, we actually came out really fast, unsettled, rushing shots, being too anxious to shoot instead of just getting settled,'' said Jasmine Thomas. ''She settled us. She took the ball, took over, got us going downhill.''

Connecticut led by as many as 11 points in the second, before Nneka Ogwumike led the Sparks back. She had 13 points in the half, hitting six of her seven shots as LA took a 40-37 lead into intermission.

RESPE-CT

Connecticut has used the predictions of pundits as motivation for the postseason, making promos using the Tweets of ''experts'' saying they don't have a superstar and picking against them in the series. The team sold T-shirts in the arena Tuesday that read DisrespeCT, with the CT highlighted.

''We've got All Stars; we've got the league's best 3-point shooter,'' said Jasmine Thomas. ''I don't know what it's going to take to turn us into big names. But we can't control that. We can't control what people think about us. We can't control what people say. But how we believe in ourselves in this locker room is what we feed off of. It's what makes us special.''

UNWELCOME BACK

This was Chiney Ogwumike's first playoff game in Connecticut since the former Sun star was granted a trade to LA in the offseason. She was booed loudly when the lineups were announced and each time she touched the ball.

''It's sort of surreal,'' said the younger Ogwumike, who finished with four points and four fouls in 15 minutes. ''The first time I came back here they booed and I guess it hurt me a little bit, because this place meant so much to me. But I understand why. What I just learned is that for 40 minutes they are going boo, but afterward there is still a lot of love. At least, that's what I'm leaning on.''

TIP-INS

Sun: Connecticut has won 24 games this season, the most since 2012, which also happens to be the last time the franchise was in the conference semifinals. The team lost in the conference finals that year and has had just two playoff games since, losing to Phoenix in the first round each of the last two seasons.

Sparks: Los Angeles won two out of three from the Sun in the regular season, but fall to 1-2 in Connecticut.

UP NEXT

The teams return to the Mohegan Sun arena on Thursday for Game 2 of the best-of-five series.

CNOTES · Sep 18, 2019

SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 19, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
6:35 PM Los Angeles Sparks Connecticut Sun Mohegan Sun Arena
8:35 PM Las Vegas Aces Washington Mystics The Entertainment and Sports Arena

SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 22, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
5:05 PM Washington Mystics Las Vegas Aces Mandalay Bay Events Center
7:05 PM Connecticut Sun Los Angeles Sparks Staples Center

SCHEDULE FOR TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
3:00 PM Connecticut Sun Los Angeles Sparks Staples Center
3:00 PM Washington Mystics Las Vegas Aces Mandalay Bay Events Center

*****************************

WNBA SEPT. PLAYOFFS OPINIONS AND BEST BETS: ALL BASED ON 5 UNITS

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

09/17/2019.......1-3-0........25.00%......-11.50
09/15/2019.......3-1-0........75.00%.......+9.50
09/11/2019...... 3-1-0 .......75.00% ......+9.50

Total.................7-5-0........58.33%.......+7.50

*****************************

BEST BETS:

DATE........................ATS............. ..UNITS...............O/U..............UNITS...........TOTALS

09/17/2019..............0 - 2................-11.00..............1 - 1.............-0.50............-11.50
09/15/2019..............1 - 1................-0.50................2 - 0............+10.00..........+9.50
09/11/2019..............1 - 1................-0.50................2 - 0............+10.00..........+9.50

Totals......................2 - 4 ...............-12.00...............5 - 1............+19.50.........+7.50

CNOTES · Sep 18, 2019

Wednesday’s 6-pack

NFL trends for Week 3:

— Falcons are 0-10 ATS in their last 10 games vs AFC opponents.

— Eagles covered twice in last nine games as a home favorite.

— Vikings are 20-5-1 ATS in last 26 games as a home favorite.

— Denver is 4-12 ATS in last 16 games as a road underdog.

— Patriots covered 12 of last 14 games as a home favorite.

— Raiders covered their last six road openers.

Tweet of the Day
“Eli and I spoke this morning. I told him that we are making a change and going with Daniel as the starter. I also talked to Daniel. Eli was obviously disappointed, as you would expect, but he said he would be what he has always been, a good teammate, and continue to prepare to help this team win games……”
Giants’ coach Pat Shurmur

Wednesday’s quiz
Who was the Giants’ head coach before Pat Shurmur?

Tuesday’s quiz
Jeff Fisher coached the Tennessee Titans in their only Super Bowl appearance.

Monday’s quiz
Chris Chandler was the Atlanta Falcons’ QB the first time they played in a Super Bowl, when they lost to Denver

***************************

Wednesday’s List of 13: Mid-week musings……

13) NFL trends; over last 20 years, 11 NFL teams started their season 0-2, with both losses at home; those teams went 4-6-1 vs spread in their Week 3 road game.

This week, Jets, Panthers, Dolphins fit the bill.

12) Since 2005, NFL Week 3 home teams who played their first two games on the road are 11-28-2 vs spread; 6-22-2 when favored, 5-6 as an underdog.

49ers, Colts, Bills, Jets fit the bill this week.

11) Daniel Jones is starting at QB for the Giants Sunday in Tampa; last time Eli Manning got benched, that coach got fired a few weeks later, and Eli started again. We’ll see how this goes, but Jones doesn’t play defense, which is the Giants’ biggest problem.

10) Submitted for your perusal, with no comment:
Jim Plunkett: 72-72 regular season, 8-2 playoffs, two Super Bowls.
Eli Manning: 116-116 regular season, 8-4 playoffs, two Super Bowls.

9) Steelers signed QB Paxton Lynch to their practice squad; he figures to be Mason Rudolph’s backup sooner than later.

8) NFC West teams are 7-1 against the spread so far this season.

7) MAC teams are 4-12 ATS as a road underdog outside their conference.

6) Nation-wide, home underdogs are 11-18 ATS in non-conference college games.

5) Pretty cool with Giants’ OF Mike Yastrzemski in Boston this week, playing on the same field where his Hall of Fame grandfather played from 1961-83.

Carl Yastrzemski hit 452 homers playing half his games in a ballpark not built for lefty hitters; he had an .841 career OPS.

Mike Yastrzemski was traded from the sadsack Orioles to San Francisco on March 23; he is hitting .263 with 19 homers in a breakout rookie season- this should be a fun week for him.

4) Cardinals beat Washington 4-2 Monday night, but St Louis pitchers struck out only one batter the whole game, which in this day and age is pretty rare.

3) Sean Payton agreed to a 5-year contract extension that takes him through 2024, which would be his 19th season coaching the Saints.

2) New England is -22.5 against the Jets; how many points would you have to get before you would take the Jets?

Dolphins are +21 at Dallas; when was last time two NFL teams got 20+ points in the same week?

1) Big X teams are 13-4 ATS out of conference this season, 9-2 as a favorite.

CNOTES · Sep 19, 2019

WNBA
Long Sheet

Thursday, September 19

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LOS ANGELES (23 - 12) at CONNECTICUT (23 - 11) - 9/19/2019, 6:30 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
LOS ANGELES is 6-3 against the spread versus CONNECTICUT over the last 3 seasons
LOS ANGELES is 5-4 straight up against CONNECTICUT over the last 3 seasons
6 of 9 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LAS VEGAS (22 - 12) at WASHINGTON (25 - 8) - 9/19/2019, 8:30 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
LAS VEGAS is 5-2 against the spread versus WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
WASHINGTON is 4-3 straight up against LAS VEGAS over the last 3 seasons
4 of 7 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WNBA

Thursday, September 19

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Connecticut Sun
Connecticut is 15-5 SU in its last 20 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Connecticut's last 6 games
Connecticut is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Connecticut is 10-1 SU in its last 11 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Connecticut's last 6 games at home
Connecticut is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing Los Angeles
Connecticut is 7-14 SU in its last 21 games when playing Los Angeles
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Connecticut's last 10 games when playing Los Angeles
Connecticut is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games when playing at home against Los Angeles
Connecticut is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Los Angeles
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Connecticut's last 6 games when playing at home against Los Angeles
Los Angeles Sparks
Los Angeles is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Los Angeles is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Los Angeles is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 6 games on the road
Los Angeles is 14-7 SU in its last 21 games when playing Connecticut
Los Angeles is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing Connecticut
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Los Angeles's last 10 games when playing Connecticut
Los Angeles is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Connecticut
Los Angeles is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Connecticut
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 6 games when playing on the road against Connecticut

Washington Mystics
Washington is 8-4 ATS in its last 12 games
Washington is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 11 of Washington's last 16 games
Washington is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games at home
Washington is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Washington's last 10 games at home
Washington is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Las Vegas
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Washington's last 9 games when playing Las Vegas
Washington is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Las Vegas
Washington is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Las Vegas
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Washington's last 5 games when playing at home against Las Vegas
Las Vegas Aces
Las Vegas is 3-6 ATS in its last 9 games
Las Vegas is 16-8 SU in its last 24 games
The total has gone OVER in 11 of Las Vegas's last 13 games
Las Vegas is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Las Vegas is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Las Vegas's last 7 games on the road
Las Vegas is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Washington
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Las Vegas's last 9 games when playing Washington
Las Vegas is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Washington
Las Vegas is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Washington
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Las Vegas's last 5 games when playing on the road against Washington

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

WNBA
Dunkel

Thursday, September 19

Los Angeles @ Connecticut

Game 615-616
September 19, 2019 @ 6:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Los Angeles
110.810
Connecticut
114.879
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Connecticut
by 4
157
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Connecticut
by 1 1/2
161 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Connecticut
(-1 1/2); Under

Las Vegas @ Washington

Game 617-618
September 19, 2019 @ 8:30 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Las Vegas
109.760
Washington
122.325
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Washington
by 12 1/2
179
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Washington
by 10
176
Dunkel Pick:
Washington
(-10); Over

CNOTES · Sep 19, 2019

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

LA at CONN 06:30 PM
CONN -1.5
O 162.0

LV at WAS 08:30 PM
LV +10.0
O 176.5

CNOTES · Sep 19, 2019

Sun rout Sparks 94-68, take 2-0 lead in semifinal series
September 19, 2019
By The Associated Press

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) Jonquel Jones scored 27 points and Courtney Williams added 25 to help the Connecticut Sun rout the Los Angeles Sparks 94-68 on Thursday night and take a 2-0 lead in the WNBA semifinals.

Game 3 of the best-of-five series is Sunday in Los Angeles.

The Sun led by one at the half before Williams blew the game open. She scored 13 of her points in the third quarter to the delight of her dad, Don, who was courtside wearing her No. 10 jersey. He was jumping up and down on every one of her baskets and waving a towel and a cardboard cutout of his daughter's head.

Connecticut led 70-57 after three quarters and scored 10 of the first 12 points in the fourth to dash any hopes Los Angeles had of a comeback. Sparks coach Derek Fisher pulled his starters with 5:31 left and his team down 23 points.

Nneka Ogwumike scored 18 points and Riquna Williams added 14 for the Sparks, who will have to win three straight to make the WNBA Finals for the third time in five years.

MYSTICS 103, ACES 91

WASHINGTON (AP) - Emma Meesseman matched a career high with 30 points in her second consecutive exceptional performance, and Washington beat Las Vegas to take a 2-0 lead in the teams' semifinal series.

Natasha Cloud added 18 points and 11 assists for Washington, while Elena Delle Donne scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds on the day she was honored with the league MVP award.

The Mystics can wrap up the best-of-five series and seal a return to the WNBA Finals on Sunday in Las Vegas.

Liz Cambage had 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Aces, who have lost four of five meetings against the Mystics this year between the regular season and playoffs.

Kelsey Plum added 19 points and 10 assists for Las Vegas, which fought back from an 11-point second-quarter deficit to take a brief lead in the third, only to fade late.

CNOTES · Sep 19, 2019

SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 22, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
5:05 PM Washington Mystics Las Vegas Aces Mandalay Bay Events Center
7:05 PM Connecticut Sun Los Angeles Sparks Staples Center

SCHEDULE FOR TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2019
Time (ET) Away Home Site
3:00 PM Connecticut Sun Los Angeles Sparks Staples Center
3:00 PM Washington Mystics Las Vegas Aces Mandalay Bay Events Center

*******************************

WNBA SEPT. PLAYOFFS OPINIONS AND BEST BETS: ALL BASED ON 5 UNITS

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

09/19/2019.......2-1-1........66.67%......+4.50
09/17/2019.......1-3-0........25.00%......-11.50
09/15/2019.......3-1-0........75.00%.......+9.50
09/11/2019...... 3-1-0 .......75.00% ......+9.50

Total.................9-6-1........60.00%.......+12.00

*****************************

BEST BETS:

DATE........................ATS............. ..UNITS...............O/U..............UNITS...........TOTALS

09/19/2019..............1 - 0................+5.00..............1 - 1..............-0.50............+4.50
09/17/2019..............0 - 2................-11.00..............1 - 1.............-0.50............-11.50
09/15/2019..............1 - 1................-0.50................2 - 0............+10.00..........+9.50
09/11/2019..............1 - 1................-0.50................2 - 0............+10.00..........+9.50

Totals......................3 - 4 ...............-3.00................6 - 2.............+19.00..........+16.00

CNOTES · Sep 22, 2019

Armadillo: Sunday's six-pack

Top six picks for Week 3 in Westgate Super Contest:

6) Colts -1.5 (674)

5) Ravens +6.5 (794)

4) Steelers +6.5 (934)

3) Lions +6 (937)

2) Seahawks -4 (974)

1) Rams -3 (1,474)

2019 record: 7-5

**********

Armadillo: Sunday's List of 13: Wrapping up a sports Saturday……

13) UCLA 67, Washington State 63:
— This amazing game ended at 2:27am here in the east.
— With 4:00 left in third quarter, Wazzu led 49-17; UCLA then scored 29 points in the next 7:24
— Bruins had a 100-yard kick return and a 69-yard punt return for TD’s.
— Both quarterbacks threw for 500+ yards.

— UCLA scored 50 points in the second half; Fifty!!!
— Coogs turned ball over six times (-5).
— Total yardage was 720-657, WSU.
— Wazzu QB Gordon threw nine TD passes, and his team still lost.

12) Toledo 41, Colorado State 35— At 2:34am, Colorado State’s receiver caught a pass on 2-yard line but was stopped on the 1-yard line as the game ended. Solid late night entertainment this week.

11) LSU 66, Vanderbilt 38— The most important new name in college football this season may wind up being Joe Brady, who is LSU’s passing game coordinator and receivers coach.

Brady came to LSU from the New Orleans Saints, where he worked the last two years; he has brought the Tigers’ offense into the 21st century, and he may wind up making QB Joe Burrow a very wealthy young man when the NFL Draft rolls around next April.

Burrow was 25-34/398 yards passing with six TD’s Saturday in Nashville; at one time a few years ago, he was the 3rd-string QB at Ohio State.

10) Wisconsin 35, Michigan 14:
— Rushing yardage: 359-40, Wisconsin
— Wolverines were minus-4 in turnovers, 0-10 on third down
— Michigan completed only 17 of 42 passes.

Under Jim Harbaugh, Michigan is:
— 1-3 in bowl games.
— 0-4 vs Ohio State (lost 62-39 LY).
— 2-2 vs Wisconsin.
— 2-4 vs spread as an underdog.

I’m guessing the natives are restless in Ann Arbor.

9) California 28, Ole Miss 20— Rebels got hosed by the replay official, who neglected to call for a replay review of a possible touchdown of their 3rd down play that may/may not have been a TD that could’ve tied the game in the last 0:10. Bad officiating.

Last nine Pac-12-SEC games, the SEC teams are 7-2 vs spread, but both the Pac-12’s covers were by Cal over Ole Miss.

8) Appalachian State 34, North Carolina 31— Tar Heels outgained ASU 469-385, but were minus-2 in turnovers— App State scored a defensive TD. UNC is now 2-2, with all four games decided by six or fewer points.

7) Upsets of the Week:
— San Jose State (+20.5) 31, Arkansas 24
— UCLA (+18.5) 67, Washington State 63
— Buffalo (+14) 38, Temple 22
— Pitt (+12.5) 35, UCF 34
— SMU (+9.5) 41, TCU 38

6) I-A teams who almost lost to a I-AA team:
— Eastern Michigan 34, Central Connecticut 29— EMU blocked a punt for a TD with 0:10 left, avoiding a horrendous loss after they upset Illinois last week.

5) Pittsburgh 35, UCF 34— Panthers scored on a “Philly Special” 4th down trick play with 0:56 left to hand the Golden Knights their first loss of the season. UCF had won its previous 27 regular season games; they rallied back from down 21-0 in this game, but couldn’t hang on.

4) Washington 45, BYU 19— BYU needs to get into a league; their schedule is stupid:

First 4 games: Utah, @ Tennessee, USC, Washington.
Next 8 games: @ Toledo, @ USF, Boise St, @ Utah St, Liberty, Idaho St, UMass, @ San Diego St.

Not a very well-balanced schedule. Most schools spread out their more attractive games.

3) USC 30, Utah 23— Trojans’ 3rd-string QB Matt Fink was 21-30/351 passing; USC has really good receivers, but they’re running out of quarterbacks.

2) Nebraska 42, Illinois 38- Illini led 35-21 with 3:00 left in third quarter, but couldn’t hold it.

— Total yardage: 671-299, Nebraska
— Illinois was +3 in turnovers (4-1).
— Illinois completed only 9-24 passes.
— Cornhuskers ran ball for 344 yards.

1) Scott Frost is the football coach at Nebraska; his brother Steve is the PA announcer at Stanford football games.